The Division I AHCA All-American Teams are an annual honor bestowed by the
American Hockey Coaches Association
The American Hockey Coaches Association was formed in 1947 in Boston. The founding members coached college ice hockey but membership has grown to include coaches at every level of the sport from youth hockey to professional ice hockey, althoug ...
to the college hockey players judged to be the top performers in their division. Each team is composed of at least one
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
, two
defensemen and three
forwards on
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
programs. At least one all-star team has been named by the since the start of NCAA tournament play in
1947–48 after the conclusion of either the regular season or the conference tournaments.
Initially the All-American teams weren't named by ACHA. in the first ten years of the teams the players were selected by some combination of media members and team officials. In some years only players from teams that participated in the NCAA tournament were eligible.
In each of the first ten years two teams worth of players were voted on and usually assorted into a first- and second-team. In some years, however, no distinction was made and the players were all considered to have received first-team honors. The format was changed for the
1957–58 season, creating an All-American team for both the East and West regions. In the early years of this format the All-American teams were dominated by two conferences (the
WCHA
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
in the west and the
ECAC in the east) as there were only two major conferences competing in NCAA hockey (the WCHA began play in
1959–60 followed by the ECAC two years later). While the
CCHA began play in
1971–72 it would only provide one player to the All-American teams until a conference realignment in
1981–82 when it became considered on par with the major conferences. The ECAC would continue to dominate the eastern teams until an internal schism split the conference and
Hockey East
The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference.
Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...
was formed in
1984–85.
Due in part to an influx of member teams to fill the rolls of the four major conferences as well as increased inter-conference competition for recognition, the AHCA began to name two teams for each region (first- and second-teams) which it has continued to do since
1983–84.
As of
2013–14 the conferences that comprise the east region are
Atlantic Hockey
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...
, the ECAC and Hockey East while the western region contains the
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
,
NCHC and the WCHA.
All-American teams
First Team
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
First Team players by school
Multiple appearances
Second Team
1940s
1950s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Second Team players by school
Multiple appearances
References
External links
List of All-AmericansUSCHO.comCollege Hockey Historical Archives
{{NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Season
Teams
College ice hockey trophies and awards in the United States